• Title/Summary/Keyword: Plasmas

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The Influence of He flow on the Si etching procedure using chlorine gas

  • Kim, J.W.;Park, J.H.;M.Y. Jung;Kim, D.W.;Park, S.S.
    • Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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    • 1999.07a
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    • pp.65-65
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    • 1999
  • Dry etching technique provides more easy controllability on the etch profile such as anisotropic etching than wet etching process and the results of lots of researches on the characterization of various plasmas or ion beams for semiconductor etching have been reported. Chlorine-based plasmas or chlorine ion beam have been often used to etch several semiconductor materials, in particular Si-based materials. We have studied the effect of He flow rate on the Si and SiO2 dry etching using chlorine-based plasma. Experiments were performed using reactive ion etching system. RF power was 300W. Cl2 gas flow rate was fixed at 58.6 sccm, and the He flow rate was varied from 0 to 120 sccm. Fig. 1 presents the etch depth of si layer versus the etching time at various He flow rate. In case of low He flow rate, the etch rate was measured to be negligible for both Si and SiO2. As the He flow increases over 30% of the total inlet gas flow, the plasma state becomes stable and the etch rate starts to increase. In high Ge flow rate (over 60%), the relation between the etch depth and the time was observed to be nearly linear. Fig. 2 presents the variation of the etch rate depending on the He flow rate. The etch rate increases linearly with He flow rate. The results of this preliminary study show that Cl2/He mixture plasma is good candidate for the controllable si dry etching.

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The Flow of the Interstellar Plasmas surrounding the Heliopause estimated via IBEX-Lo Observations

  • Park, Jeewoo;Kucharek, Harald;Isenberg, Philip A.;Paschalidis, Nikolaos
    • The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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    • v.43 no.1
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    • pp.51.3-52
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    • 2018
  • Since Voyager 1 passed the Heliopause in 2012, it has provided the observations of the charged particles in the local interstellar medium. However, Voyager 1 only provides the information along with its trajectory. In order to understand the global view of the interstellar plasma flow surrounding the Heliopause, we need another tool. When the interstellar plasmas approach the Heliopause, the ions are deflected around the Heliopause due to the draping of the interstellar magnetic field. The draping of the interstellar magnetic field is strongly connected with the shape of the Heliopause. A fraction of the diverted ions exchanges their charges with the undisturbed primary interstellar neutral atoms, and then the ions become neutral atoms called the secondary interstellar neutral atoms. The newly created neutral atoms carry information on the diverted flow of the interstellar ions, and a fraction of them can travel to the Sun. Therefore, the secondary component of the interstellar neutrals is an excellent diagnostic tool to provide important information to constrain the shape of the Heliopause. The secondary interstellar neutrals are observed by Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) at Earth's orbit. Since 2009, two energetic neutral atom cameras on IBEX have measured neutral atoms and it has provided sky maps of neutral atoms. In this presentation, we will discuss the directional distribution of the secondary interstellar neutrals at Earth's orbit. In the sky maps, the primary interstellar neutral gas is seen between $200^{\circ}$ and $260^{\circ}$ in ecliptic longitude and the secondary components are seen in the longitude range of $160^{\circ}-200^{\circ}$. We also present a simplified model of the outer heliosheath to help interpret the observations of interstellar neutrals by the IBEX-Lo instruments. We extract information on the large-scale shape of the Heliopause by comparing the neutral flux measured at IBEX along four different look directions with simple models of deflected plasma flow around hypothetical obstacles of different aspect ratios to the flow. Our comparisons between the model results and the observations indicate that the Heliopause is very blunt in the vicinity of the Heliospheric nose, especially compared to a Rankine half-body or cometary shape.

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Comparative Study on Microwave Probes for Plasma Density Measurement by FDTD Simulations

  • Kim, D.W.;You, S.J.;Na, B.K.;Kim, J.H.;Chang, H.Y.;Oh, W.Y.
    • Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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    • 2014.02a
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    • pp.218.1-218.1
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    • 2014
  • In order to measure the absolute plasma density, various probes are proposed and investigated and microwave probes are widely used for its advantages (Insensitivity to thin non-conducting material deposited by processing plasmas, High reliability, Simple process for determination of plasma density, no complicate assumptions and so forth). There are representative microwave probes such as the cutoff probe, the hairpin probe, the impedance probe, the absorption probe and the plasma transmission probe. These probes utilize the microwave interactions with the plasma-sheath and inserted structure (probe), but frequency range used by each probe and specific mechanisms for determining the plasma density for each probe are different. In the recent studies, behaviors of each microwave probe with respect to the plasma parameters of the plasma density, the pressure (the collision frequency), and the sheath width is abundant and reasonably investigated, whereas relative diagnostic characteristics of the probes by a comparative study is insufficient in spite of importance for comprehensive applications of the probes. However, experimental comparative study suffers from spatially different plasma characteristics in the same discharge chamber, a low-reproducibility of ignited plasma for an uncertainty in external discharge parameters (the power, the pressure, the flow rate and so forth), impossibility of independently control of the density, the pressure, and the sheath width as well as expensive and complicate experimental setup. In this paper, various microwave probes are simulated by finite-different time-domain simulation and the error between the input plasma density in FDTD simulations and the measured that by the unique microwave spectrums of each probe is obtained under possible conditions of plasma density, pressure, and sheath width for general low-temperature plasmas. This result shows that the each probe has an optimum applicable plasma condition and reliability of plasma density measurement using the microwave probes can be improved by the complementary use of each probe.

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Comparison of InGaef etching $BCl_3,\;BCl_3/Ar\;and\;BCl_3/Ne$ inductively coupled plasmas ($BCl_3,\;BCl_3/Ar,\;BCl_3/Ne$ 유도결합 플라즈마에 의한 InGaP 건식 식각 비교)

  • Baek, In-Kyoo;Lim, Wan-Tae;Lee, Je-Won;Jo, Guan-Sik;Jeon, Min-Hyun
    • Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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    • 2003.07a
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    • pp.361-365
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    • 2003
  • Planar Inductively Coupled Plasma (PICP) etching of InGaP was performed in $BCl_3,\;BCl_3/Ar\;and\;BCl_3/Ne$ plasmas as a function of ICP source power ($0\;{\sim}\;500\;W$), RIE chuck power ($0\;{\sim}\;150\;W$), chamber pressure ($5\;{\sim}\;15\;mTorr$) and gas composition of $BCl_3/Ar\;and\;BCl_3/Ne$. Total gas flow was fixed at 20 sccm (standard cubic centimeter per minute). Increase of ICP source power and RIE chuck power raised etch rate of InGaP, while that of chamber pressure reduced etch rate. We also found that some addition of Ar and Ne in $BCl_3$ plasma improved etch rate of InGaP. InGaP etch rate was varied from $1580\;{\AA}/min$ with pure $BC_3\;to\;2800\;{\AA}/min$ and $4700\;{\AA}/min$ with 25 % Ar and Ne addition, respectively. Other process conditions were fixed at 300 W ICP source power, 100 W RIE chuck power and 7.5 mTorr chamber pressure. SEM (scanning electron microscopy) and AFM (atomic force microscopy) data showed vertical side wall and smooth surface of InGaP at the same condition. Proper addition of noble gases Ar and Ne (less than about 50 %) in $BCl_3$ inductively coupled plasma have resulted in not only increase of etch rate but also minimum preferential loss and smooth surface morphology by ion-assisted effect.

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The Characteristics of (Ba,Sr)$TiO_3$ Thin Films Etched With The high Density $BCl_3/Cl_2$/Ar Plasma ($BCl_3/Cl_2$/Ar 고밀도 플라즈마에서 (Ba,Sr)$TiO_3$ 박막의 식각 특성에 관한 연구)

  • Kim, Seung-Bum;Kim, Chang-Il
    • Proceedings of the KIEE Conference
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    • 1999.11d
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    • pp.863-866
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    • 1999
  • (Ba,Sr)$TiO_3$ thin films have attracted groat interest as new dielectric materials of capacitors for ultra-large-scale integrated dynamic random access memories (ULSI-DRAMs) such as 1 Gbit or 4 Gbit. In this study, inductively coupled $BCl_3/Cl_2$/Ar plasmas was used to etch (Ba,Sr)$TiO_3$ thin films. RF power/dc bias voltage = 600 W/-250 V and chamber pressure was 10 mTorr. The $Cl_2/(Cl_2+Ar)$ was fixed at 0.2, the (Ba,Sr)$TiO_3$ thin films were etched adding $BCl_3$. The highest (Ba,Sr)$TiO_3$ etch rate is 480$\AA/min$ at 10 % $BCl_3$ adding to $Cl_2$/Ar. The characteristics of the plasmas were estimated using optical emission spectroscopy (OES). The change of Cl, B radical density measured by OES as a function of $BCl_3$ percentage in $Cl_2$/Ar. The highest Cl radical density was shown at the addition of 10% $BCl_3$ to $Cl_2$/Ar. To study on the surface reaction of (Ba,Sr)$TiO_3$ thin films was investigated by XPS analysis. Ion enhancement etching is necessary to break Ba-O bond and to remove $BaCl_2$. There is a little chemical reaction between Sr and Cl, but Sr is removed by physical sputtering. There is a chemical reaction between Ti and Cl, and Tic14 is removed with ease. The cross-sectional of (Ba,Sr)$TiO_3$ thin film was investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), the etch slope is about $65\;{\sim}\;70$.

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Effects of $CH_{2}F_{2}$ and $H_2$ flow rates on process window for infinite etch selectivity of silicon nitride to PVD a-C in dual-frequency capacitively coupled plasmas

  • Kim, Jin-Seong;Gwon, Bong-Su;Park, Yeong-Rok;An, Jeong-Ho;Mun, Hak-Gi;Jeong, Chang-Ryong;Heo, Uk;Park, Ji-Su;Lee, Nae-Eung
    • Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Surface Engineering Conference
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    • 2009.05a
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    • pp.250-251
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    • 2009
  • For the fabrication of a multilevel resist (MLR) based on a very thin amorphous carbon (a-C) layer an $Si_{3}N_{4}$ hard-mask layer, the selective etching of the $Si_{3}N_{4}$ layer using physical-vapor-deposited (PVD) a-C mask was investigated in a dual-frequency superimposed capacitively coupled plasma etcher by varying the following process parameters in $CH_{2}F_{2}/H_{2}/Ar$ plasmas : HF/LF powr ratio ($P_{HF}/P_{LF}$), and $CH_{2}F_{2}$ and $H_2$ flow rates. It was found that infinitely high etch selectivities of the $Si_{3}N_{4}$ layers to the PVD a-C on both the blanket and patterned wafers could be obtained for certain gas flow conditions. The $H_2$ and $CH_{2}F_{2}$ flow ratio was found to play a critical role in determining the process window for infinite $Si_{3}N_{4}$/PVDa-C etch selectivity, due to the change in the degree of polymerization. Etching of ArF PR/BARC/$SiO_x$/PVDa-C/$Si_{3}N_{4}$ MLR structure supported the possibility of using a very thin PVD a-C layer as an etch-mask layer for the $Si_{3}N_{4}$ layer.

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Influence of Ne-Xe Gas Mixture Ratio on the Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) Emission Measurement from the Coaxially Focused Plasma

  • Lee, Sung-Hee;Hong, Young-June;Choi, Duk-In;Uhm, Han-Sup;Choi, Eun-Ha
    • Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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    • 2011.02a
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    • pp.220-220
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    • 2011
  • The Ne-Xe plasmas in dense plasma-focus device with coaxial electrodes were generated for extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography. The influence of gas mixture ratio, Ne-Xe (1, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 50%) mixture gas, on EUV emission measurement, EUV intensity and electron temperature in the coaxially focused plasma were investigated. An input voltage of 4.5 kV was applied to the capacitor bank of 1.53mF and the diode chamber was filled with Ne-Xe mixture gas at a prescribed pressure. The inner surface of the cylindrical cathode was lined by an acetal insulator. The anode was made of tin metal. The EUV emission signal of the wavelength in the range of 6~16 nm has been detected by a photo-detector (AXUV-100 Zr/C, IRD). The visible emission line was also detected by the composite-grating spectrometer of the working wavelength range of 200~1100 nm (HR 4000CG). The electron temperature is obtained by the optical emission spectroscopy (OES) and measured by the Boltzmann plot with the assumption of local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE).

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A Large Area Plasma Source Using Multi-cathode Electron Beam (다중 음극 전자빔을 이용한 대면적 플라즈마 소스)

  • Gang, Yang-Beom;Jeon, Hyeong-Tak;Kim, Tae-Yeong;Jeong, Gi-Hyeong;Go, Dong-Gyun;Jeong, Jae-Guk;No, Seung-Jeong
    • Korean Journal of Materials Research
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    • v.9 no.9
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    • pp.861-864
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    • 1999
  • A new plasma source using the multi-cathode electron beam has been designed and manufactured. A multi-cathode was adopted to produce bulk plasmas in a large volume. Multi-cathode electron beam plasma source(MCEBPS) was found to generate stable plasmas over the wafer diameter of 300 mm or above. W(tungsten) filament was used as a cathode. Over a 320 mm diameter, both the plasma potential $V_p$ and floating potential $V_f$ were uniformly maintained and the difference between $V_p and V_f$ was measured to be small. The plasma density was around $10^{10} cm^{-3}$ and its variation along the radial distance was small.

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Weight Loss and Morphology of Nitrile Curable PFE and Peroxide Curable PFE after Exposing to $NF_3$ and $O_2$ Remote Plasmas ($NF_3$-와 $O_2$ 리모트 플라즈마 노출에 따른 니트릴 가교 과불소고무와 과산화물 가교 과불소고무의 무게 손실과 모폴로지 특성)

  • Lee, Kyung-Won;Kim, Tae-Ho
    • Polymer(Korea)
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    • v.35 no.2
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    • pp.136-140
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    • 2011
  • The plasma resistances of nitrile curable perfluoro elastomer (NT PFE) and peroxide curable PFE (PO PFE) after exposing to $NF_3$ and $O_2$ remote plasmas were investigated by analyzing weight loss and morphology of O-ring made of PFE. The compounds were designed following the typical formulations of O-ring/seal which were applied in semiconductor and LCD production site. They were blended by an open roll mill, and then, O-ring was finally made by hot press molding and oven curing. The weight loss was calculated and morphology was observed for each atmosphere and temperature by a digital weighing machine and SEM. As results, it was confirmed the weight loss and related morphology were meaningfully different according to the cure type of PFE, filler system, and the species of remote plasma.

X-Ray, UV and Optical Observations of Classical Cepheids: New Insights into Cepheid Evolution, and the Heating and Dynamics of Their Atmospheres

  • Engle, Scott G.;Guinan, Edward F.
    • Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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    • v.29 no.2
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    • pp.181-189
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    • 2012
  • To broaden the understanding of classical Cepheid structure, evolution and atmospheres, we have extended our continuing secret lives of Cepheids program by obtaining XMM/Chandra X-ray observations, and Hubble space telescope (HST) / cosmic origins spectrograph (COS) FUV-UV spectra of the bright, nearby Cepheids Polaris, ${\delta}$ Cep and ${\beta}$ Dor. Previous studies made with the international ultraviolet explorer (IUE) showed a limited number of UV emission lines in Cepheids. The well-known problem presented by scattered light contamination in IUE spectra for bright stars, along with the excellent sensitivity & resolution combination offered by HST/COS, motivated this study, and the spectra obtained were much more rich and complex than we had ever anticipated. Numerous emission lines, indicating $10^4$ K up to ${\sim}3{\times}10^5$ K plasmas, have been observed, showing Cepheids to have complex, dynamic outer atmospheres that also vary with the photospheric pulsation period. The FUV line emissions peak in the phase range ${\varphi}{\approx}0.8-1.0$ and vary by factors as large as $10{\times}$. A more complete picture of Cepheid outer atmospheres is accomplished when the HST/COS results are combined with X-ray observations that we have obtained of the same stars with XMM-Newton & Chandra. The Cepheids detected to date have X-ray luminosities of log $L_X{\approx}28.5-29.1$ ergs/sec, and plasma temperatures in the $2-8{\times}106$ K range. Given the phase-timing of the enhanced emissions, the most plausible explanation is the formation of a pulsation-induced shocks that excite (and heat) the atmospheric plasmas surrounding the photosphere. A pulsation-driven ${\alpha}^2$ equivalent dynamo mechanism is also a viable and interesting alternative. However, the tight phase-space of enhanced emission (peaking near 0.8-1.0 ${\varphi}$) favor the shock heating mechanism hypothesis.